On the Job
by Annevader
Summary: Rose and Scorpius, long-time rivals and reporters at The Oracle are paired up to go deep undercover to investigate the true loyalties of the Minister for Magic. Rose isn't sure what's more dangerous: the actual assignment or the fact that Scorpius and her may just kill each other out of sheer irritation.
1. Scoop

**Aargh, I don't know what has possessed me. Months of no inspiration, and then bam! I'm churning out stories like a..err..story-churner-outer.**

**_Anyway, _the point is that I have started another Scorose multi-chaptered fic! I don't expect it to be be anywhere near as popular as Bodyguard but whatever, it's fun writing! :D **

**And that Writer's Itch has really been bothering me of late.**

**So, here goes nothing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the weird and wonderful world of Harry Potter.**

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**Chapter One**

"Ladies and gentlemen…witches and wizards. I give you…the scoop of the year."

Rose sat up straighter as did everyone else in the crowded room. There was a series of faint murmurs and then an impatient sort of silence. The man standing at the far end of the room, at the head of the conference table had his arms spread out in a dramatic gesture.

His thin pencil moustache quirked upwards when he spoke. "We, at _The Oracle_, have received a tip off from a reliable source. The Minister for Magic, Bartholomew Flockton…" he paused here, eyes sweeping over the select gathering with obvious glee, "is a Dark wizard."

There were several sharp intakes of breath at this outrageous pronouncement and then frantic muttering. Notepads were flipped open, feet shuffled and in some cases, fingers crossed hopefully.

Calvert Higgins almost sniggered at the dreamy expressions on the faces of his reporters. He settled for adjusting his tie and smirking. "I am sure you've all realized that this is an investigation which must be handled with extreme delicacy. As such, I will be assigning only the best, the cream of the crop as it were, to this case. Most of you dunderheads would do better not to get your hopes up."

Several envious glances were shot in Rose's direction and she felt simultaneously embarrassed and pleased. She was a strong contender for this job. Merlin, if only she was selected! If the source was correct and it was _her, _Rose Weasley, who wrote the exposé…Aah, sweet success.

She stifled a grin at the thought and reminded herself to not count her dragons before they'd hatched.

Especially not when it could just as easily (and perhaps even more easily, an unbiased part of her whispered) be that absolute berk, Scorpius Malfoy who was selected.

She gritted her teeth in annoyance at the very thought of him. He'd been impeding her progress at every turn since her first year at school and now, eleven years later he was just as irritating and competitive.

She returned her attention to her boss who was still assessing the impact of his words with impish delight.

"I assign this case, this monumentally important endeavor…" Rose's breath hitched, "to Rose Weasley," she sucked in a huge breath, "and Scorpius Malfoy."

There was dead silence. Rose was vaguely aware of the fact that her jaw had dropped.

Rose Weasley…_and _Scorpius Malfoy?

She heard someone laugh awkwardly into the blank silence and realized it was her. When all eyes snapped to her, she flushed embarrassedly and cleared her throat. "Mr. Higgins," she began uncertainly, "I think there's been a mistake. Did you just say- I mean, did…" her voice petered off feebly when her boss rolled his eyes and said in a tone which implied intense boredom. "Yes, Weasley. I said that both you _and_ Mr. Malfoy would be covering this case. If you have any objections to my decision then by all means, feel free to turn down the offer. I have plenty of replacements even for you."

Rose was fairly sure that her face was the colour of her hair by now. The tips of her ears probably resembled the Hogwarts Express. "No, sir," she mumbled. "No objections."

"Good. Now, the rest of you are delegated with the responsibility of providing assistance to Ms. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy should they require it, no matter what time of day and no matter how absurd the request. I want this article out as soon as magically possible, understand? Now, get out, all of you. And if you breathe a word of this to anyone- and I mean _anyone_- outside this room, I will personally rip out your spleens and hand them to you."

There was a mad scuffle as chairs were pushed back and twenty-odd people rushed out of the room, whispering excitedly.

Rose felt vaguely sick. Malfoy. She was to work with Malfoy. Not _against _Malfoy. Not _near _Malfoy. _With _him. As a team.

Speaking of, where was the little gobshite anyway? She couldn't spot the telltale flash of pale blond hair in the rapidly dispersing crowd.

"Ms. Weasley, remain here, please."

Rose nodded, not having bothered to get up.

As the last of the reporters left, carefully shutting the door behind them, Rose turned to face her boss who was examining her shrewdly.

"Where's Malfoy?" she asked without preamble.

"Putting the finishing touches to his last article. I've briefed him already. He should be coming along in…aah."

He looked up, pleased, as someone knocked at the door.

Rose scowled when it swung open to reveal her arch-nemesis…err, colleague.

"Mr. Malfoy! Welcome, welcome! Article all done, I trust?"

"Of course, sir." He smiled charmingly at Higgins and crossed over to hand him the scroll of parchment.

Having done so, he turned his attention to Rose. She felt herself jump slightly when he redirected his smarmy grin at her. "Weasley! Lovely to see you as always. Doing well, I hope?"

"I was, till about thirty seconds ago," she responded drily. "Hmm, I wonder what could have caused the sudden worsening of my day."

"A reminder of your unrequited love for me, perhaps?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, and crossed her arms, the better to keep her hands away from her wand.

_Do not hex him. Do not hex him. Do not hex him!_

_Just one little curse, please!_

"Been confusing your dreams with reality again, Malfoy?"

He grinned cheekily at her but didn't respond, choosing to get down to business. "Our assignment, sir?"

Higgins who'd finished perusing the contents of the parchment, withdrew his wand and tapped it against the scroll. It vanished and Rose knew it would appear at the editor's desk in about three seconds.

"You'll be working undercover," he said, jumping right into the details. "You will be provided with false identities and documents supporting the same. I expect you to behave like _professionals."_ He narrowed his eyes at them. "Is that clear? Any petty squabbling that endangers your mission or your cover and I will not hesitate to replace you both and then bump you down to the daily horoscopes section."

Rose shuddered at what she knew was no empty threat. She'd rather be eaten by a flobberworm than churn out mindless, false predictions day after day.

"You can expect my full cooperation for the duration of this assignment, sir. I'm sure Ms. Weasley feels the same way?"

Scorpius turned to raise a challenging eyebrow at her and she clenched her fist around the hem of her skirt to stop herself from punching his ridiculously good-looking face. Smarmy git.

"Of course," she ground out through clenched teeth and a maniacal smile. "My full cooperation."

"Excellent. Now get lost."

Rose sprang to her feet at the curt dismissal and was out the door in a flash.

xxx

Scorpius followed at a more sedate pace, with the result that by the time he'd exited the conference room, Rose was nowhere in sight. He smirked at the effect he had on her. Infuriating her was a favourite pastime and never disappointed.

One would think that she'd have built up a resistance to his snark over the course of a decade, but they would be grievously, hilariously mistaken.

He chuckled at the thought of what she'd do once she found out exactly what their undercover identities were.

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**I know that the chapter is not very long, but hopefully, I'll be able to work myself back up to 3000+ words a chapter. Please do leave a review as I am suffering from serious doubts right now regarding this story. Aaah, I don't know how I'm planning on writing this with college starting soon!**

**Be my inspiration, yo. xD **


	2. Identity Crisis

**Hullo ullo! How are you all doing today? I've been quite lethargic as per always but hey, at least I have a chapter for you! **

**I want to thank the following people for being wonderful enough to leave me a comment: SylviaKerne, Lovestoread456, thestoryreader99, Lizaluvsdoggies, Anon and pennyg. Thank you for your lovely reviews, this chapter is for you guys!**

**Thanks as well to those who found this story worth alerting/favouriting: RoseWeasley929, JACKY10CM, IncertCleverHPReferenceHere, Lovestoread456, thestoryreader99, w0nderstruck, and stuffasdreamsaremadeon.**

**Well then, carry on! **

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**Chapter Two **

Rose was at her desk when she received the manila envelope containing the details of her new identity. It appeared in her in-tray at precisely 10:03 AM and having been waiting for it with barely restrained impatience since she'd gotten into work an hour ago, she lunged for it instantly.

Her heart beat slightly faster as she pressed her wand to the purple wax seal with the insignia of The Oracle stamped into it. It recognized her magical signature and opened easily. Sliding her thumb under the seal, Rose braced herself for the worst and drew out the sheaves of paper.

Her name was written in green ink on the top left corner and below that:

_Name: Catriona Walker __née __Cooper_

_Age: 21_

_Occupation: Unemployed_

_Blood status: Half-blood_

There followed a list of her hobbies and details of the contents of her bank account which were so impressive as to cause her eyebrows to shoot up.

The other sheets were falsified documents consisting of her birth certificate, various awards, apparition license and OWL and NEWT results which were less than stellar (Only three Outstandings and one Acceptable!)

As she turned to the final document, her breath hitched. It was a certificate of marriage. Well, of course she'd known that her alter ego was married hence the '_née_ Cooper' but…a sneaking suspicion entered her mind.

No…surely not. Even Higgins couldn't be that sadistic. This would completely jeopardize the whole operation!

It couldn't be…was Scorpius Malfoy meant to be Kyle Walker otherwise known as _her husband?!_

Xxxx

Overall, Rose thought she'd handled the situation rather well. She'd knocked on Higgins' door and waited patiently to be let in. She'd then calmly taken a seat and laid the offending certificate on his desk. She'd crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to start laughing and tell her that he'd been kidding, had she enjoyed the joke, ha-ha!

Calvert Higgins did no such thing. He merely raised an eyebrow and studied her as if she was something he'd found floating around in a jar of diluted bubotuber pus. "You're here to waste my time, aren't you?" he asked, with the air of one who'd resigned himself to having to face idiots every day of his life.

"Yes," she'd confirmed, not bothering to set him straight. After all, he was the Boss. He would fix this.

"Well, have at it then. What's bothering your pretty little head now?"

"I'd thought that it'd be rather obvious," she answered coolly. "Somebody somewhere has made a mistake and has married off this poor Catriona lady to a complete sod. I'm sure you will be rectifying the situation?"

Higgins rolled his eyes. "It's not a mistake, Rose. You have to pretend to be Mr. Malfoy's wife and there really isn't a damn thing you can do to change my mind."

Rose tried, she really did, but she couldn't prevent an undignified "Why?!" from escaping her. "There must be another way!" she insisted. "I really don't see how this is going to work. We can barely stand each other. Five minutes in the same room and it's a warzone for everyone within a ten mile radius! How on earth are we supposed to act like a…like a…" she dropped her voice conspiratorially and hissed with as much disgust as humanly possible, "….couple?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," drawled Higgins, perusing the day's edition of the Daily Prophet; best to be informed about the competition after all. "Now if you're done whining, kindly get out."

Rose gritted her teeth and seriously considered hitting the infuriating individual across from her with a heavy, blunt object.

Instead, she snatched up the troublesome piece of paper that proclaimed her as the wife and beloved of one royal git and stalked angrily out of the room, making sure to slam the door on her way out.

Ensconced safely behind his newspaper, Higgins rolled his eyes as the decorations on his walls rattled.

xxx

As Rose reached her cubicle, she was greeted with a most gruesome sight: Malfoy was lounging around in her chair, feet up on what had once been a neat desk and was eating- oh, Merlin, he was eating her super-secret-emergency-stash of Honeydukes' finest!

"You!" she hissed, eyes spitting with rage. Actual purple sparks shot out of her wand and he cast an amused glance in its direction.

He took his time raising his eyes from the wand in her hand, gaze lingering on her chest and neck before meeting her eyes.

He smirked.

Rose physically felt her mind snapping.

She was practically frothing at the mouth. "Stop leering at me, you ignorant buffoon! Have you or have you not seen the complete botch up in our particulars?" She waved the marriage certificate at him as threateningly as one can wave a piece of paper.

He raised an eyebrow, placing another square of rich, _expensive _chocolate into his mouth. "I don't see what the problem is."

"Stop eating that!" she snapped, snatching the Honeydukes bar from his hand. "And what do you mean you _don't see what the problem is?!"_ she mimicked his voice in a high-pitched, singsong manner and tried to ignore the way he looked at her- as if she were the world's biggest idiot. Yeah, she got a lot of those kinds of looks, ninety percent of which were from him. "How can you be okay with being married to be me, you prat?"

He shrugged. "I must be a masochist."

At her blank stare, he sighed exasperatedly. "I'm joking. I don't want to be married to you either, you harpy. But it's a good cover for the assignment and I really think you ought to be more professional."

Rose gasped and bridled at this attack. "I can be professional!" she protested.

"Prove it."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Rose glowered at him.

He laughed, looking delighted. "Did you just _growl?_"

"No!" _Damn._

"Whatever, Cat," he said, getting up and plucking the chocolate from her slack grip. "See you later."

He was gone before she was done spluttering indignantly.

xxx

Cat.

Honestly!

Just because her name was _Catriona. _Rose rolled her eyes with unwarranted vehemence at the thought of her new name. She refused to acknowledge the fact that she'd really rather liked it at first. But it was tainted now. All because of that….graaarghh!

Pulling her mind back to the present, she knocked on the door of the Burrow. She had to inform her parents about her latest assignment and tell them to not contact her by owl for a while as the assignment would be starting in just a few days. Once undercover, she was at risk of blowing the whole operation if an owl bearing a letter addressed to _Rose Weasley _found its way to her.

Catriona Walker. She grimaced. Got to get used to that.

The door swung open and she blinked, lowering her fist.

"Rosie!" her dad crowed delightedly. "Give us a hug!"

She was pulled into a massive, bone-crushing embrace and before she knew it, she'd been dragged into the drawing/dining room where various members of the Weasley clan were gathered around the fireplace for their weekly lunch at Molly and Arthur's place.

"Look who's here!" Ron announced loudly, shoving her into the room.

Rose had a second to register with surprise that her mother was also present (she often could not make it for these Friday lunches due to an emergency at work) before she was tackled by various members of her over-large family.

"Rosieeee!" squealed Dominique excitedly as James gave her another hug that crushed the breath out of her poor lungs.

"Can't. Breathe." she rasped out, choking slightly.

"Oh, sorry," James said unapologetically and thumped her on the back. She keeled over the couch and landed face-down on the carpet.

Pulling herself to her feet in as dignified a manner as she could muster, Rose brushed off her jeans.

She greeted Albus with great relief, secure in the knowledge that he at least would not attempt to choke the breath out of her by way of greeting.

A sumptuous meal and three helpings of dessert later, Rose was lolling back in her chair, attempting to inhale despite the vice-grip her jeans had on her waist.

"I'm going to be going undercover for an assignment in a few days," she informed the room at large.

"That's great, Rose! I know better than to ask for details, of course," Hermione said, smiling at her daughter.

Rose returned the smile but felt guilty knowing that her parents worried each time she had to go on one of her investigative assignments. If the unnamed source was indeed right, then her parents had every reason to worry. Which, of course, was precisely the reason for the instatement of the Don't Ask Don't Tell rule.

"Yeah, Rosie, it's great," James said around a mouthful of trifle pudding. If she hadn't known him for twenty one years, Rose would have considered it beyond belief that he was still going strong on the food. Even Fred had put down his fork ten minutes ago.

As it was, suspension of disbelief was required for preservation of sanity when one grew up a Weasley.

He waved his fork at her. "If you get into trouble, just call me, I'll whoop the bad guys' ass."

Rose grinned at him. "Thanks James. I don't think that'll be necessary though. I do have a partner this time."

Ron jerked up from his stupor. "Wha'? Is it a guy? It's not a guy, is it Rosie?"

Rose was saved from answering when Hermione smacked Ron's arm warningly. Rose however, had turned slightly red and didn't miss the knowing look Dom sent her.

xxx

Much later, back in the quietude of her own apartment, Rose unwinded in her tub, leafing through the information she had about her assignment.

She'd been given access to an Oracle account to fund the items necessary for her to stay in character.

But right now, it was time to do her homework. It was time to get to know Catriona and Kyle Walker.

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**Well, there ya go. I hadn't been planning on updating so soon, so you all ought to reward me. ;)**

**The next chapter will be longer! **


	3. Soiree

**Okay, so here is chapter three! I honestly have no idea what I'm doing writing a fic considering I have to start attending college in like 20 days and it's in another country. But whatevs, I do it fo' yo' love. (Yes, I am a creep.) **

**Muchas Gracias to all those who reviewed: thestoryreader99, pennyg, lizaluvsdoggies, drenched-in-sunshine and SaruDM. You guys are the bestest. :* **

**Thanks as well to those who alerted/favourited: icarus95, v0lpe, ChanChanMan7, xSoph, Rose and Scorpius forever, Lizaluvsdoggies, Sarnia Nereid and lilbuddie715. Please leave a review to let me know what you think of the story so far. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Scorpius glanced up from his newspaper to smile at the receptionist. She blushed and smoothed down her hair, smiling back at him shyly.

He pretended to read the paper again. Ironically enough, it was a copy of _The Oracle. _He heard a faint clatter and looked up to discover that the receptionist, a young woman with slightly messy blonde hair had conjured up a pot of tea and was now standing in front of him. The tray clattered again as her hands trembled slightly.

"Cup of tea while you wait, sir?"

He made sure to smile broadly at her and didn't know whether to feel amused or guilty when the tray shook violently. "That'd be lovely, thank you."

The young woman, Amanda Wright, cast the man in front of her an admiring glance as she poured a cup of tea with nerveless fingers. _Get a grip, _she scolded herself. _He probably thinks you're a complete fool._

Actually, he probably didn't think anything of her at all. After all, she was just a lowly secretary whereas he was a friend of the Minister's! Or well, a future friend of the Minister's at any rate. It was Amanda's job to receive donations from magnanimous supporters of the government and forward the same to the Treasury and she'd seen the large sack of galleons as it had come in. Kyle Walker was a very wealthy man indeed.

_And _so _good-looking, _she sighed mentally. His jet-black hair offset his blue eyes in the loveliest manner. Her heart skipped three beats every time he smiled at her with his perfect teeth and full lips.

He accepted the cup of tea from her with a gracious word of thanks and somewhat disappointedly, she realized she had to return to her desk.

Stalling, she nodded towards the newspaper in his hands. "Anything interesting in there? Haven't had a chance to look through it myself yet."

She almost slapped herself. It was bad manners to interrupt people while they were reading! Oh, he'd think she was a complete dithering brainless fool!

There was, however, no indication that he thought any such thing. "Not really," he responded, lowering the paper."Just reading an article by that Malfoy bloke."

Her eyes lit up at the familiar name. "Oh! Scorpius Malfoy, you mean? He's so intelligent! I love his articles. He does some really good investigative pieces."

Kyle chuckled at that. "You think so?"

She nodded vigorously, eager to prove that she was well-informed. "Oh, yes. His piece on Goblin Rights in the 21st century was just awe-inspiring; led to huge trouble for the Goblins Liaisons Department."

Kyle seemed about to answer when the buzzer at her desk made a low humming noise. Flushing slightly, she hurried back to her desk and having confirmed that it was the Minister's line, signaled to the dark-haired man that the minister was ready to see him.

She sighed regretfully when he entered the office. And he'd been such a nice man too. Pity.

xxx

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it off to the side before proceeding through the door. The room was sumptuously decorated with an ivory desk dominating the space and plush green armchairs next to a roaring fireplace. It ought to have been unbearably hot in the room with the fire but the temperature was perfect. Magical interference, of course. _What a waste._

The man seated at the luxurious desk rose to his feet. "Aah," he said holding out a hand welcomingly. "Mr. Walker, I presume? My apologies for making you wait."

Scorpius walked forwards and grasped the Minister's outstretched hand. "It was no trouble, Minister," he assured easily. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The Minister gestured for him to sit. "I must say I was quite surprised when you requested to see me," he continued, once he was comfortably situated.

Bartholomew Flockton laughed easily. "Of course I wanted to meet you. Good God, man, did you see the size of your donation?"

Scorpius bowed his head modestly. "I am secure in the knowledge that it will be put to good use." _Yeah, right._

"Young man like yourself, coming by that sort of money…" he looked shrewdly at Scorpius. "You must be a pureblood?"

"I am, sir."

"Of course, of course. Old money. Useful to have that sort of support when you're in a position like mine." He gave Scorpius another calculating look that the latter didn't like very much at all. "So why the sudden interest in the Ministry's affairs?"

Scorpius phrased his response carefully. "It recently came to my attention that the Ministry was turning towards avenues which are close to my own personal interests. I would, of course, like to support any…improvement in the functioning of our government."

Flockton smiled knowingly at that. "I see. Well, it was a pleasure conversing with you. But I do, unfortunately, have several pressing engagements I must attend to."

Scorpius took the abrupt dismissal in stride and rose to his feet smoothly. "Then I won't keep you from your work any longer. Thank you for your time, Minister."

They shook hands again and Scorpius was uncomfortably aware of the fact that he may not have achieved his desired goal. But it was only the first meeting, after all. It just required some time and patience. He was one step away from the door, hand already reaching out for the handle when Flockton called him back.

Scorpius suppressed the triumphant glee that reared up. "Yes, Minister?"

"Mr. Walker, I am hosting a gathering of friends and supporters at my residence this Friday. I would like for you to attend."

Scorpius inclined his head respectfully and tried to look as if he had just been granted a huge privilege. "It would be an honour, Minister."

"Excellent." Flockton smiled chillingly. "You can expect an owl from Ms. Wright."

xxx

Scorpius tossed the silver scroll onto Rose's desk. She looked up slowly, eyebrows arched.

"That," he said, "is our invitation to the Minister's manor."

Rose unfurled the ornamental scroll and scanned the text. Seven P.M. this Friday. She was impressed in spite of herself. "Not bad," she allowed.

Scorpius scoffed at the meager praise but didn't comment.

"So that's in two days." Rose considered the ramifications of this and blanched. It was a formal event. Rose didn't do formal. Well, she did, but formal for her was a dress that brushed her knees and an attempt at neat hair. "So what are you going to wear then?" she asked casually, trying not to let on that she had no clue what was socially acceptable.

Scorpius shrugged. "I'll just wear one of my formal robes, I suppose."

Oh, of course. He was a _Malfoy. _He probably had ten wardrobes filled with viable options. She noted that he was grinning knowingly at her and scowled.

"You have no clue what you're supposed to wear, do you?"

"I do too!" she snapped defensively. "I'll just wear something…umm, conservative."

Yeah, conservative was formal, right? And she had _The Oracle's _account after all. She could just buy something from an expensive boutique somewhere. That would do.

Much to her chagrin, Scorpius merely sighed and shook his head as if he were dealing with a being of lower intelligence.

"Don't worry about it, Weasley. I'll take care of it."

To Rose's ears, this statement sounded highly ominous.

xxx

Friday came by all too quickly and Rose still had nothing to wear. Not that she really cared all that much. She felt jittery whenever she thought of the upcoming evening. She would be expected to play a very unfamiliar part. This wasn't her first job where she'd had to hide her identity. Being as well-known in the wizarding world as she was, she needed some sort of disguise every time she covered a story. The same went for Malfoy, of course. Both of them had been cursed with very distinctive features. She'd once worked as a maid in a manor to expose the rough treatment of house elves at the hands of pureblood masters (her mother had been very proud of her for writing that article) and one time, she'd even suffered the misfortune of working as a barmaid. Rose shuddered at the memory. Never again.

But neverhad she imagined that she'd be unlucky enough to have to act as if she were in love with Malfoy. She'd almost rather go back to waitressing at_ The_ _Three-Headed Thestral._

Besides, she knew nothing about pureblood customs and society. What if she made a social gaffe that blew their cover? But then, Catriona Walker was half-blood so nobody would consider a blunder out of the ordinary surely?

There was a sudden crack and Rose scrambled to her feet, reaching for her wand. A house-elf stood in the middle of her drawing room, looking ridiculous amidst the modern furnishings of her house.

"Tippy has brought Miss' clothes," the elf squeaked, holding a flat white box above its head. "Young Master Malfoy says he will pick Miss up at half past six. He says Miss better be ready."

Rose scowled at the last part. "Thanks Tippy," she said, relieving the elf of its package.

Tippy bowed once and then disapparated.

So Malfoy had an elf? Rose scoffed at the thought. And how was he planning on picking her up anyway? She knew he lived in London, rather than in his family's manor, but had no clue what his address actually was. He must know hers though, seeing as Tippy had found her all too easily.

Rose suppressed a shudder at the thought and set the white box on her table.

She lifted the lid and folded back the thin white paper inside.

Rose's jaw dropped when she saw the dress.

xxx

Scorpius was enjoying a strong cup of tea when Tippy appeared back in his flat.

"Tippy has delivered package to Miss," the elf said, bowing low.

"Thanks a lot Tippy, you can go back to the manor now," he said kindly. Tippy usually took great offence at the fact that he'd ordered her to work and stay in the manor with the other elves rather than in his apartment and it had taken him a long time to convince her that it wasn't because he found her work unsatisfactory or because she was a 'bad elf'.

The elf tugged one of its ears and vanished again. Not ten minutes later, an owl fluttered in through his open window. Untying the parchment around its leg, he laughed at the short message.

_You're a sadistic bastard._

He chuckled and took another sip of his tea. It was fun being Scorpius Malfoy.

xxx

Rose surveyed the gown incredulously. It wasn't just the outrageous cut which was making her cringe (The neckline appeared to plunge all the way to the band of stiff fabric that would come under her breasts.) It wasn't even the fact that it was virtually backless, though that was another twenty points _not _in its favour. It was the rich, green colour which screamed_ Slytherin_. There was no way she wasn't going to look like a complete tart wearing it.

The only consolation was the velvet cloak of darker green that lay folded under the dress. That would cover up about sixty percent of the exposed areas at least.

For a few minutes, Rose considered simply throwing a hissy fit and refusing to wear the ruddy thing. But she knew better. She was already on shaky ground with Higgins due to her repeated protestations to his (ill-advised) decisions. She'd just have to suck it up and do what the job required.

And it wasn't a _bad_ dress. She'd expected something entirely different but…she felt a momentary thrill at the idea of wearing something so regal and suppressed the feeling immediately.

She'd wear it but she wasn't going to _enjoy_ it.

xxx

Rose stared at her reflection with something approaching desperation. It wasn't too late to just change her mind and back out was it? Maybe her presence wasn't required after all? She flinched instantly at the thought of what Scorpius would say if she refused to accompany him now. _'I thought you said you were a _professional, _Weasley. Well, I suppose you're just a quitter after all. It's quite obvious who the better reporter here is.' _And then he'd smirk in that infuriating way of his, his eyes dancing in triumph.

Her face coloured instantly with anger and she grit her teeth in determination. No backing out. She was doing this.

Fastening the cloak firmly, she grabbed the vial of potion off her desk which she'd collected earlier from The Oracle's usual supplier. Downing the purplish liquid in one, she felt an odd tingling sensation in her scalp and a brief flash of pain behind her eyelids.

Grimacing and opening her eyes, she was caught off guard by her own appearance. Her usual red hair was now a dark shade of brown and her eyes had changed from their customary brown to slate grey. Examining her irises, she noted distastefully that the shade rather resembled that of Scorpius' eyes.

Just as this unpleasant thought struck her, her door bell let out a single peal and glancing at her clock, she realized that it was already a quarter past six.

Rose marched over to the door and flung it open. She took a surprised step backwards when she came face to face with not Scorpius Malfoy, but Kyle Walker.

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she realized that she'd been expecting the smarmy git with his usual blond hair. It had completely slipped her mind that he'd be taking a potion as well.

Refusing to acknowledge that he actually looked rather fetching with his new black and blue features, she let him in with a massive scowl. "I really hate you for this," she informed him, referring to her attire.

He smirked and she realized that his gaze was directed at her overly exposed chest. Fuming with silent rage, she smacked him upside the head. "Focus!" she snapped.

"I am," he grumbled, massaging the tender spot where she'd hit him. "Good to see you too, Weasley."

She shut the door with a snap and sniffed disapprovingly. "Now if you're quite done ogling me, can we get on with the evening?"

"Hold your hippogriffs, what's the hurry? Still have a couple of things to sort out."

She tapped her foot impatiently, arms crossed. "Such as?"

He rummaged around in his coat pocket and withdrew a plain gold band. "Your wedding ring," he clarified, holding it up to the light.

"Oh," Rose said, ceasing her tapping. Another detail she'd forgotten. It was Malfoy's fault, she decided. She never made any mistakes when she worked alone.

She was pulled unceremoniously out of her musings when he lifted her left hand. She snatched it away on reflex. "What are you doing?"

He gave her another one of _those _looks. The ones which implied she was an idiot. "What do you think?" he intoned, gesturing to the ring in his hand.

Rose flushed defensively. "I know what you're _doing_. I meant that you don't need to. I can handle it myself."

Having said that, she plucked the ring from his grasp and jammed it with unnecessary vehemence onto her ring finger.

Scorpius shrugged indifferently and pulled out yet another package, from an inner pocket this time. "Put this on as well," he instructed, handing it to her.

Rose looked suspiciously from him to the velvet box and then back. Opening it, her worst fears were confirmed. It was a necklace and it was practically dripping with diamonds. She felt like she ought to fetch her sunglasses and sunblock before allowing herself to stand in front of it.

"Where on earth did you get this? I highly doubt that _The Oracle _would have sprung for this."

"It's mine."

"Yours-?" An absurd image came to mind and she giggled.

"Yes, and I'll be expecting it back so if you lose it, you owe me 20,000 galleons."

Rose spluttered, shocked. "Twenty-?"

He smiled humourlessly. "Yes. Now, if you're quite ready, I'd like to leave soon."

xxx

They'd apparated to the manor and had been confronted by massive wrought-iron gates which had swung open upon their approach.

Scorpius had reluctantly offered her his arm and she'd grasped it unenthusiastically. Still, she pondered, as they walked down the lush driveway, this was better than the awkward moment back home when she'd been fumbling with the clasp on the necklace for so long that he'd thrown up his hands in frustration and had finally done it up for her. She'd experienced mild shivers because of his less than welcome touch. (Though it was really rather easy to forgot how much she disliked him when he was silent and looked nothing like the git she'd come to loathe.)

Two minutes later, they came to a rest outside majestic mahogany double-doors. These swung open as well and a man standing by the entrance bowed and held out a gloved hand for the silver invitation.

Rose swallowed nervously.

It started now.

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**What d'you think? Is the Minister evil? Is Scorpius a sadistic bastard? Is it weird that I dream about doughnuts? LET ME KNOW. **

**You get to meet some of my evil characters next chapter! **

**And don't expect my usual super-quick updates, because like I said, I'm starting college soon! Eek! Super excited and also scared, since I have to move to England! **

**Anyway, reviewww s'il vous plait! *fervent flying kisses* **


	4. Soiree II

**Hello, mes petits choux! I know, I know, I suck- one week is the longest i've taken to update a story without declaring a hiatus. But I've completely lost the inspiration to write because there are just too many other things I need to take care of right now- vaccinations, bookings, packing, etc. **

**I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS. But I will really try and write this story when I have breaks from college! **

**As always, I want to thank all of you magnificent reviewers (I hope I replied to all of you): drenched-in-sunshine, ronandhermioneismagical, LittleRed22, pennyg, Lizaluvsdoggies, SaruDM, benniegirl, Gabrielav, thestoryreader99 and Snidget'n'Fwooper. **

**And thank you to all those who alerted/favourited: HP fan not the sauce the book, LittleRed22, benniegirl, whatapileofshit10, Gabrielav, Wizkd515, IncertCleverHPReferenceHere, Snidget'n'Fwooper, random-ju-user and daughterofhorses.**

**Enough of my namby-pamby excuses, read on! I actually kind of like this chapter.**

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**Chapter Four**

The man deposited the scroll onto a silver platter and bowed them in. A short walk through the foyer and they entered through another pair of doors, these ones wide open in welcome.

Rose felt her breath catch at the splendor which greeted them. A massive chandelier dominated the ceiling and jewel-toned orbs of light bobbed near the upper reaches of the large room, creating a sort of half-lit atmosphere. It was pleasantly warm and the crowd was almost obscenely colourful. The other party-goers had donned rich, vibrant colours and she caught a glimpse of a stuffed flamingo hat bobbing above the crowd. In her current attire, she blended right in.

She peeked up at Scorpius from the corner of her eye and noted that he looked highly unimpressed. She instantly rearranged her own features to look slightly bored. Soiree at the Minister's? Haah! She went to those all the time!

"Come on," he muttered, nudging her towards the swarm of wealthy and probably, powerful people.  
"Keep an eye out for Flockton."

Rose stumbled slightly over her high heels as they were swallowed by the crowd. Craning her neck around, she caught sight of a small group of wizards in dark robes standing in a cluster near one of the large bay windows. Clenching her hand tighter around Scorpius' arm, she nodded discreetly in their direction. The Minister was standing at the centre of the group, head down and lips moving.

Scorpius nodded and they made their way over to Flockton's corner. He looked up as they approached and smiled.

"Mr. Walker."

Scorpius smiled at him in return and shook his hand warmly. "Minister. I must thank you again for inviting us."

Rose felt herself straightening up subconsciously when the Minister's eyes alighted upon her. This was the first time she'd seen him in person and he looked intimidating this close up. His hair was dark and untidy and there was an unpleasant glint in his eyes. He would have been good-looking ten years previously and even now retained some of his appeal but there was a hardened look about him, as if he'd seen, perhaps even done, unpleasant things.

_Or maybe, _Rose chided herself, _I'm just letting myself get carried away imagining things as usual. Innocent until proven guilty, Rose._

Flockton took her hand in his and brushed his lips over the back of it. "Mrs. Walker, I presume?"

"Aah, yes." Rose stammered slightly and felt herself flush. There were a few amused chuckles from the onlookers. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she continued regardless. "My husband has told me so much about you."  
She laid her now free hand fondly on Scorpius' arm and tried to look suitably infatuated.

_Aargh, kill me now._

She observed with increasing impatience as Flockton and Scorpius conversed about various matters of political relevance. She almost snorted at some of the misinformed opinions of the others in the group but remained dutifully silent. She longed to contribute her own thoughts to the discussion but was aware that other than Malfoy, probably no one in the group credited her with actually having any thoughts at all.

Noting that over twenty minutes has passed, she decided it was now high time to enact phase two of the evening's plan.

She laid her hand on Scorpius' arm again to catch the attention of the group and excused herself to the 'powder room'.

Then hurrying out of the massive room with mounting relief, she ignored the directions she'd been given and after a quick glance around which revealed no spectators, she crept up the stairs, as quickly as she could in her long robes.

The first floor was eerily quiet, none of the noise from the party below filtering upstairs. The halls were unlit aside from the occasional torch in a brass bracket and the portraits were dozing lightly. One in particular caught her eye. The occupant was caught in an odd loop of movement. The witch in the painting was standing near the edge of the canvas but with a flicker, would reappear every few seconds in the large chair in which she'd originally been painted. Rose watched this parody, transfixed, for a full minute.

The plaque underneath the portrait said, simply, _Emmaline _and depicted a date of death some ten years previously.

Then, remembering her mission, Rose pushed the oddity from her mind and hurried on, leaving the malfunctioning portrait behind.

She ignored the majority of doors she came across, not having the time to examine all of them. Instead, she searched for something more distinctive. What she really needed was his study or his bedroom; somewhere he may keep important documents.

She found what she looking for at the end of one wing; there was a plain wooden door without any sort of latch or keyhole and she could feel the distinct pulse of magical energy emanating from it. Pulling out her wand from where she'd strapped it to her leg, Rose ran a simple diagnostic spell.

She sighed as she mentally ran down the number of defensive spells on the door. Uncomfortably aware that she'd already been gone for five minutes, she started on the first of them.

xxx

Scorpius laughed for the fiftieth time at a joke that was not remotely funny. Rose had been gone almost ten minutes. That wasn't much, but her absence would soon begin to attract suspicion.

Flockton chose that very moment to voice his concern. "I do hope your wife is alright, Mr. Walker. She's been gone a while."  
Scorpius shrugged unconcernedly. "She's probably just run into some friends. She doesn't find matters of state particularly engaging." Haah, if only she could hear him saying that.

"All the same, if she doesn't come back soon, I think Darius ought to go look for her. She could be lost or hurt."

While Scorpius highly doubted that Flockton cared at all about Rose's health, he was rather more concerned with the rest of the Minister's pronouncement.

If Darius Caligari's red-rimmed eyes and pallid complexion weren't enough to give him away, the way he'd been looking at Rose certainly was.

He wondered what the wizarding world would think of the Minister keeping the counsel of vampires.

Darius smiled, evidently pleased with this arrangement and Scorpius' grip on his flute of champagne tightened imperceptibly.

This could get unpleasant.

xxx

Rose sifted through the pile of papers neatly stacked on the desk. Nothing. The drawers were devoid of any useful information as well. Where ever the Minister kept his personal documents, it wasn't in his study. Rearranging the pile and making sure everything was as it should be, Rose edged around the desk and caught sight of an odd pile of books lying on a small side table obstructed from view by the large couch.

She reached for them, confusion growing as she read each title. A handsome young wizard with blond hair smirked up at her from the cover of one book. Turning to the last book in the pile, she couldn't completely stifle the gasp that threatened to escape her.

Having memorized the titles, she glanced one last time around the room, replaced the books in their earlier haphazard manner and hurried back out the door, re-engaging the wards with a sweep of her wand.

Listening closely, she headed back down the annexe, keeping both eyes and ears peeled. A shuffle to her right caught her attention and she spun around, heart pounding. A door stood ajar, revealing nothing but inky darkness beyond. Then slowly, something shuffled by the gap, unrecognizable in the near non-existent lighting.

Casting a very dim _Lumos, _Rose raised her wand slightly. The silvery light glinted off two orbs, cracked and grey with age and framed by sagging, rotting, flesh and wispy strands of what could have been hair. They were eyes and they were staring right at her.

Extinguishing her wandlight, Rose tamped down on the mounting panic, stifled the scream rising in her throat and fled back down the corridor, towards the freeze-frame portrait.

She collided painfully with something and found herself falling backwards. A hand came up to catch her wrist and tugged her forwards into an icy wall. Heart hammering, Rose realized that whoever had caught her was cold- no, _freezing- _as nothing alive should be.

Raising her head slowly, horror intensifying, she met Darius' blackhole eyes.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't _Mrs. Walker," _he hissed sibilantly.

She didn't like the way he'd emphasised her assumed name and tried to tug her wrist out of his grip. He merely re-doubled the force he was using and Rose cried out at the sudden pain.

"I...I was looking for the powder room like I said," she tried, valiantly keeping her voice from shaking. "I got lost."

"I-"

The vampire broke off and hissed with anger as steady footsteps sounded behind him. "Catriona. Mr. Caligari."

Rose had never been so glad to hear Scorpius' voice before. She could have kissed him right then.

He drew level with them and took in the situation quietly. "I would thank you not to manhandle my wife, Mr. Caligari," he said with a coldness that rivalled the vampire's.

The latter relinquished his grip on her at once and Rose instantly took several steps backwards, nursing her sore wrist. Then, tossing the pair of them a contemptuous glance, Darius strode back the way he'd come, his strides unnaturally long and graceful. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs, Mr. And Mrs. Walker." He smiled at them and they caught the reflection of firelight off his fangs. "Don't be too long."

Rose started trembling the minute he'd left and was barely aware of Scorpius picking up her wand from where it had fallen.

Scorpius cupped her face and forced her to look at him. "Cat," he whispered, her nickname sounding absurd to her in her current mental state. "I need you to calm down. Do you understand me? I need you to be okay."

Rose stared into his eyes, reminding herself that they were blue, not black and he was warm, not cold, till her shaking subsided.

Then, nodding jerkily, she held out an almost steady hand for her wand and stowed it away silently into its holster.

Then taking her hand, he guided her downstairs and back into the party where she smiled at the Minister and a smug Darius and assured everyone that she was fine, she'd merely gotten lost and thanked them for their concern.

xxx

Later that night, back at her own apartment, Rose placed the expensive necklace back into its velvet case and slid it across the table to Scorpius.

She'd changed out of the gown and was in her infinitely more comfortable tank top and pyjama bottoms.

She'd felt odd keeping the ring and dress but she'd be needing the former and Scorpius had assured her that he had no use for a formal gown.

They were now seated at the island in her kitchen, mugs of tea in front of them, comparing notes.

"He's definitely up to something, though it remains to be seen whether it's illegal. Other than Caligari, he spent most of the evening with a select group of people. We'll have to look into their backgrounds, any recent activity they've been involved in."

At the mention of the vampire, Rose's gaze darted to her right wrist which was an unpleasant shade of blue by now. She scowled into her chamomile tea. Damn leech.

Scorpius was looking at the ring of bruises as well and appeared perturbed. "What the hell is a vampire doing hanging around with the Minister for Magic? Don't their laws forbid them from forming unauthorized alliances?"

"He must be a rogue then. Maybe an exile. It'll be hard getting information on him, vampires aren't exactly forthcoming with their knowledge, even if it's about an outcast."

"Yeah." He took a sip of his tea. "You should put something on that," he added, nodding towards her wrist.

"Oh...yeah." Rose squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze and dropped her hand into her lap, out of sight. "I've got some Star Grass Salve lying around somewhere."

He snorted at that. "Star Grass? That stuff sucks. You need some Mandragora for that."

"No way," Rose argued. "I'm not shelling out ten galleons a pop for this. Star Grass works just as well."

He made a sound of indignant disbelief. "You're deluded if you think that worthless weed is as good as a mandrake."

"I _know _it's as good as a mandrake. It's certainly more value for money anyway."

"You shouldn't compromise on medicine because of expense."

"Well, _excuse _me if-"

He waved a hand, cutting her off. "This is ridiculous, we're not here to argue about bloody medicine. Did you find anything in Flockton's manor or not?"

Rose sniffed haughtily and recounted her discoveries. "There wasn't anything much, no documents that I could have duplicated anyway. But I did find something odd."

He sat up straighter and pinned her with an intense look. Rose wished he wouldn't. "What?"

"There were four books in his study which caught my eye." She listed the titles and watched his expression grow contemplative.

"Well," he said lightly. "That confirms it. He's definitely into the Dark Arts if that's his idea of leisure reading."

"Yes, but-"

"-the last one? I know. It's odd. And what does he hope to achieve from reading about them anyway?"

Rose didn't know either but it worried her. Till now, they'd assumed that Bartholomew Flockton had merely been dabbling in the Dark Arts. So why was he so interested in the lives and conquests of Salazar Slytherin, Gellert Grindelwald, Tom Riddle and strangely enough, Albus Dumbledore?

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**There it is! I shall TRY to update but I haven't really got the next chapter written out so it'll take time. There WILL be an update though. Eventually.**

**I love you guys and apologies once again for my sudden laziness. :***

**Now wish me luck- college in twelve days! EEEEEEEEEEEE! :D **


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